A FEW SIMPLE LUXURIES. 171 



dipped in salt, and eaten as we eat radishes ; but as a 

 cure for rheumatic twinges, it must be steeped in water, 

 and the water, seasoned with salt and pepper, may be 

 drank either warm or cold. 



CHAPTER XL 



A FEW SIMPLE LUXURIES. 



AN ICE HOUSE. 



Select or make a level space of ground near the house, 

 where least exposed to the summer sun, and cover it with 

 any kind of cheap boarding odds and ends answering 

 just as well as selected lumber ; leave spaces between the 

 boards for drainage. Place stout posts at each corner, the 

 two at the front being two feet higher than those at the 

 back, to support the slanting roof. Nail rough boards 

 all round to the hight of two and a half feet, and then 

 nail similar ones on the inside ; fill up this space on all 

 sides with sawdust or tan-bark, and cover the floor to 

 the depth of ten inches with the same. Select a freezing 

 day, when the ice is in its best condition for storing this 

 summer luxury. Have the ice cut in as large squares as 

 can be handled, and pack it as closely and evenly as pos- 

 sible, filling up all gaps with pounded ice, and turning 

 water over each layer. Nail on more boards when the 

 space is filled, and put in more layers of ice until enough 

 is stored for a summer's use ; then cover the top two feet 

 deepVith the tan or sawdust, and build over it a roof of 



